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Thanks Tim,
Re the Sydney public museums it's also a shame to see, I think, that nobody has written/recorded a full and comprehensive narrative on all this .. even though so many have been so severely affected by it all. I'm too old to personally care, but I'd like to see it all recorded properly - otherwise this will all just be forgotten about and become so much water under the bridge.
The Museum where I started work at Sydney (think it had lasted over a hundred years) was abolished but it has been the only one totally closed. All other major ones persist on but for one - originally the 'Technical' museum at Ultimo - they are now trying to relocate it out to western suburbs to get to the real estate values it sits on. This same government is also moving to privatise the Lands Registry (privatise the entire land recording system of New South Wales?) .. so you can imagine. Possibly worse than even your famous Mrs. Thatcher could conceive of?
The Barbarians are not only at the gate, they've burned that down and are swarming the grounds. If anyone would like the FULL statement of what the ex-Director of the Australian Museum has said (which the newspaper, not him, headlined as RETURN TO THE DARK AGE, contact me off-list and I'll find it and send to you. I say good on him for his submission - I hope it can do some good.
Kind Regards,
John
----- Original Message -----
Hi All,
I have responded as a professional without stating my host museum. So it is possible.
In answer to John; I have not seen the article and perhaps it would be interesting to read/see. It also depends on your definition of “dark age”. My personal opinion (and maybe I should be sending this from my personal e-mail but there we go) is that, especially in regional and local museums and even several nationals, there has been a continued reduction in curatorial resources (merged roles/job losses/deep storage of collections). In some cases, to the point where museums simply have no idea about what they really have or are relying of getting the right volunteers in and hope they stay (not responsible, strategic nor sustainable). There are exceptions of course. So, I would say that, along with the ironic rise in “Cabinet of Curiosity” type displays, we are moving in a pre-enlightenment direction! I don’t know if that is helpful or not and maybe others have a different view.
All the best,
Tim
From: The Geological Curator's Group mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Byrnes
Sent: 13 October 2016 18:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Consultation for Government Review of Museums
Dear Giles,
There is a review currently going on of heritage and museums in New South Wales.
So far over 200 submissions.
I shall be sending more about this.
A former Director of the Australian Museum has said in his submission, and in a major daily paper that we have have regressed back "to the Dark age".
Is it any better in the UK?
Kind Regards, John Byrnes
----- Original Message -----From:
"Giles Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
To:
Cc:
Sent:
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 09:32:57 +0000
Subject:
Consultation for Government Review of Museums
Dear all,
You may have already heard that the Government are carrying out a Consultation for their Review of Museums. https://www.govuk/government/consultations/review-of-museums-in-england
I shall be submitting a response on behalf of the Geological Curators’ Group and have copied the questions below for your interest. If you have strong thoughts on any of these questions then please let me know and I’ll see if I can add them to our response.
It would be good if as many members of the GCG could submit their own responses too. It is possible to submit anonymously in case you are worried about appearing to represent the thoughts of your institution.
All the best,
Giles
Dr C. Giles Miller, Collections Manager, Micropalaeontology, Petrology and Ores
Chairman, Geological Curators’ Group
Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
[log in to unmask]; @cgilesmiller; @NHM_Micropalaeo
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/staff-directory/giles-miller.html
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/blogs/micropalaeo
Over and above core funding, what do you think are the top three challenges for museums and galleries in England over the next decade and how could these be addressed? Please write in a challenge in each box on the left and on the right indicate how it could be addressed.
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Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: “Government should fund museums and galleries”:
We know that a lot of excellent work is already going on throughout the museums and galleries sector in England. We would welcome examples of recent best practice in the following areas:
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f. Diversifying workforce and/or audiences
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the wider museums and galleries sector in England and how it could be better supported by government or other statutory bodies, including the Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund and Local Authorities?
We would like to know a bit more about the museum, gallery or sector body you work for or volunteer with. Do you represent a:
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